The Haymarket Riot

by Tim Bailey

Unit Objective

This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style to fulfill the Common Core State Standards. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

While the unit is intended to flow over a five-day period, it is possible to present and complete the material within a shorter time frame. For example, the first two days can be used to ensure an understanding of the process with all of the activity completed in class. The teacher can then assign lessons three and four as homework. The argumentative essay is then written in class on day three.

Lesson 1

Objective

Students will be asked to “read like a detective” and gain a clear understanding of an article on the Haymarket Riot in Chicago on the night of May 4, 1886. Through reading and analyzing the original text, the students will know what is explicitly stated, draw logical inferences, and demonstrate these skills by writing a succinct summary and then restating that summary in the student’s own words. In the first lesson this will be facilitated by the teacher and done as a whole-class lesson.

Introduction

Tell the students that they will be learning about an event that occurred on the night of May 4, 1886, and was reported on in the Chicago Herald the next day. Resist the temptation to put the article into too much context. Remember, we are trying to let the students discover what the journalist had to say and then let them develop ideas based solely on his words.

Materials

Procedure

All students are given an abridged copy of the article on the Haymarket Riot and are asked to read it silently to themselves.

The teacher then “share reads” the excerpt with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).

The teacher explains that the students will be analyzing the first part of the article today and that they will be learning how to do in-depth analysis for themselves by reading and understanding the Chicago Herald’s article on the riot and then being able to tell, in their own words, what the article said. All students are given a copy of Summary Organizer #1. This contains the first selection from the Chicago Herald article.

The teacher puts a copy of Summary Organizer #1 on display in a format large enough for all of the class to see (an overhead projector, Elmo projector, or similar device). Explain that today the whole class will be going through this process together.

Explain that the objective is to select “Key Words” from the first section and then use those words to create a summary sentence that demonstrates an understanding of what the journalist was saying in the first paragraph.

Guidelines for selecting the Key Words: Key Words are very important contributors to understanding the text. Without them the selection would not make sense. These words are usually nouns or verbs. Don’t pick “connector” words (are, is, the, and, so, etc.). The number of Key Words depends on the length of the original selection. This selection is 127 words so we can pick only six or seven Key Words. The other Key Words rule is that we cannot pick words if we don’t know what they mean.

Students will now select six or seven words from the text that they believe are Key Words and write them in the box to the right of the text on their organizers.

The teacher surveys the class to find out what the most popular choices were. The teacher can either tally this or just survey by a show of hands. Using this vote and some discussion the class should, with guidance from the teacher, decide on six or seven Key Words. For example, let’s say that the class decides on the following words: policemen, dead, rioters, citizens, wounded, hand grenade (yes, technically these are two words, but you can allow such things if it makes sense to do so; just don’t let whole phrases get by), and thrown. Now, no matter which words the students had previously selected, have them write the words agreed upon by the class or chosen by you into the Key Words box in their organizers.

The teacher explains that, using these Key Words, the class will write a sentence that restates or summarizes what the journalist was reporting. This should be a whole-class discussion-and-negotiation process. For example, “Several policemen were killed and a number of rioters and civilians were wounded when a hand grenade was thrown into the crowd.” You might find that the class decides they don’t need the some of the words to make it even more streamlined. This is part of the negotiation process. The final negotiated sentence is copied into the organizer in the third section under the original text and Key Words sections.

The teacher explains that students will now be putting their summary sentence into their own words, not having to use the article’s Key Words. Again, this is a class discussion-and-negotiation process. For example, “Policemen were killed and other people were hurt because someone threw a bomb.”

Wrap up: Discuss vocabulary that the students found confusing or difficult. If you choose, you could have students use the back of their organizers to make a note of these words and their meanings.

Lesson 2

Objective

Students will be asked to “read like a detective” and discover what the Chicago Herald was reporting about the Haymarket Riot in 1886. Through reading and analyzing the original text, the students will know what is explicitly stated, draw logical inferences, and demonstrate these skills by writing a succinct summary and then restating that summary in the student’s own words. In the second lesson the students will work with partners and in small groups.

Introduction

Tell the students that they will be further exploring the Haymarket Riot of 1886 by reading and understanding the Chicago Herald’s article on the riot and then being able to tell, in their own words, what the article said. Today they will be working with partners and in small groups.

Materials

Procedure

All students are given an abridged copy of the Chicago Herald’s article on the Haymarket Riot and are asked to read it silently to themselves.

The students and teacher discuss what they did yesterday and what they decided was the meaning of the first selection.

The teacher then “share reads” the second selection with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a couple of sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).

The teacher explains that the class will be analyzing the second part of the Chicago Herald article on the Haymarket Riot today. All students are given a copy of Summary Organizer #2. This contains the second selection from the article.

The teacher puts a copy of Summary Organizer #2 on display in a format large enough for all of the class to see (an overhead projector, Elmo projector, or similar device). Explain that today they will be going through the same process as yesterday but as partners and small groups.

Explain that the objective is still to select “Key Words” from the second paragraph and then use those words to create a summary sentence that demonstrates an understanding of what the journalist was reporting in that selection.

Guidelines for selecting the Key Words: The guidelines for selecting Key Words are the same as they were yesterday. However, because this paragraph is longer (231 words), they can pick ten Key Words.

Pair the students up and have them negotiate which Key Words to select. After they have decided on their words both students will write them in the Key Words box of their organizer.

The teacher now puts two pairs together. These two pairs go through the same negotiation-and-discussion process to come up with their Key Words. Be strategic in how you make your groups to ensure the most participation by all group members.

The teacher now explains that by using these Key Words the group will build a sentence that restates or summarizes what the article was reporting. This is done by the group negotiating with its members on how best to build that sentence. Try to make sure that everyone is contributing to the process. It is very easy for one student to take control of the entire process and for the other students to let them do so. All of the students should write their negotiated sentence into their organizers.

The teacher asks for the groups to share out the summary sentences they have created. This should start a teacher-led discussion that points out the qualities of the various attempts. How successful were the groups at understanding the article and were they careful to only use the journalist’s Key Words in doing so?

The teacher explains that now the group will be putting their summary sentence into their own words, not having to use the journalist’s words. Again, this is a group discussion-and-negotiation process. After they have decided on a sentence it should be written into their organizers. Again, the teacher should have the groups share out and discuss the clarity and quality of the groups’ attempts.

Wrap up: Discuss vocabulary that the students found confusing or difficult. If you choose, you could have students use the back of their organizers to make a note of these words and their meanings.

Lesson 3

Objective

Students will be asked to “read like a detective” and discover what the Chicago Herald was reporting about the Haymarket Riot in 1886. Through reading and analyzing the original text, the students will know what is explicitly stated, draw logical inferences, and demonstrate these skills by writing a succinct summary and then restating that summary in the student’s own words. In this lesson the students will be working individually unless you think that they need another day of additional support from a partner or small group.

Introduction

Tell the students that they will be further exploring the Haymarket Riot of 1886 by reading and understanding the Chicago Herald’s article on the riot and then being able to tell, in their own words, what the article said. Today they will be working by themselves on their summaries unless you have decided otherwise.

Materials

Procedure

All students are given an abridged copy of the Chicago Herald article on the Haymarket Riot and are asked to read it silently to themselves.

The students and teacher discuss what they did yesterday and what they decided was the meaning of the first and second selections.

The teacher then “share reads” the third selection with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a couple of sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).

The teacher explains that the class will be analyzing the third selection from the Haymarket Riot article today. All students are given a copy of Summary Organizer #3. This contains the third selection from the article.

The teacher puts a copy of Summary Organizer #3 on display in a format large enough for all of the class to see (an overhead projector, Elmo projector, or similar device). Explain that today they will be going through the same process as yesterday, but they will be working by themselves.

Explain that the objective is still to select “Key Words” from the third paragraph and then use those words to create a summary sentence that demonstrates an understanding of what Jackson was writing about in that selection.

Guidelines for selecting the Key Words: The guidelines for selecting these words are the same as they were yesterday. However, because this paragraph not as long (192 words), they can pick eight to ten Key Words.

Have the students decide which Key Words to select. After they have chosen their words they will write them in the Key Words box of their organizers.

The teacher now explains that, using these Key Words, the student will build a sentence that restates or summarizes what the journalist was saying. They should write their summary sentence into their organizers.

The teacher explains that now they will be putting their summary sentence into their own words, not having to use the journalist’s words. This should be added to their organizers.

The teacher now asks for students to share out the summary sentences they have created. This should start a teacher-led discussion that points out the qualities of the various attempts. How successful were the students at understanding what the article was reporting?

Wrap up: Discuss vocabulary that the students found confusing or difficult. If you choose, you could have students use the back of their organizers to make a note of these words and their meanings.

Lesson 4

Objective

Students will be asked to “read like a detective” and discover what the Chicago Herald was reporting about the Haymarket Riot in 1886. Through reading and analyzing the original text, the students will know what is explicitly stated, draw logical inferences, and demonstrate these skills by writing a succinct summary and then restating that summary in the student’s own words. In this lesson the students will be working individually.

Introduction

Tell the students that they will be further exploring the Haymarket Riot of 1886 by reading and understanding the Chicago Herald’s article on the riot and then being able to tell, in their own words, what the article said. Today they will be working by themselves on their summaries.

Materials

Procedure

All students are given an abridged copy of the Chicago Herald article on the Haymarket Riot and are asked to read it silently to themselves.

The students and teacher discuss what they did yesterday and what they decided was the meaning of the first, second, and third selections.

The teacher then “share reads” the fourth selection with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while the teacher begins reading aloud. The teacher models prosody, inflection, and punctuation. The teacher then asks the class to join in with the reading after a couple of sentences while the teacher continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).

The teacher explains that the class will be analyzing the fourth selection from the Haymarket Riot article today. All students are given a copy of Summary Organizer #4. This contains the fourth selection from the article.

The teacher puts a copy of Summary Organizer #4 on display in a format large enough for all of the class to see (an overhead projector, Elmo projector, or similar device). Explain that today they will be going through the same process as yesterday and they will again be working by themselves.

Explain that the objective is still to select “Key Words” from the fourth paragraph and then use those words to create a summary sentence that demonstrates an understanding of what the newspaper was reporting in this last selection.

Guidelines for selecting the Key Words: The guidelines for selecting these words are the same as they were yesterday. Because this selection is the longest (246 words), they can again select up to ten Key Words.

Have the students decide which Key Words to select. After they have chosen their words they will write them in the Key Words box of their organizers.

The teacher now explains that by using these Key Words they will build a sentence that restates or summarizes what the journalist was saying. The students should write their summary sentences into their organizers.

The teacher explains that now they will be putting their summary sentence into their own words, not having to use the journalist’s words. This should be added to their organizers.

The teacher now asks for students to share out the summary sentences that they have created. This should start a teacher-led discussion that points out the qualities of the various attempts. How successful were the students at understanding what the newspaper was reporting?

Wrap up: Discuss vocabulary that the students found confusing or difficult. If you choose you could have students use the back of their organizers to make a note of these words and their meanings.

Lesson 5

Objective

This lesson has two objectives. First, the students will synthesize the work of the last four days and demonstrate that they understand the Chicago Herald’s report on the Haymarket Riot of 1886. Second, the teacher will ask questions of the students that require them to make inferences from the text but also require them to support their conclusions with explicit information from the text in a short essay.

Introduction

Tell the students that they will be reviewing what the Chicago Herald reported about the Haymarket Riot of 1886. Second, you will be asking them to write a short argumentative essay about this article; explain that their conclusions must be backed up by evidence taken directly from the text.

Materials

Procedure

All students are given an abridged copy of the Chicago Herald’s article on the Haymarket Riot of 1886 and are asked to read it silently to themselves.

The teacher asks the students for their best personal summary of selection one. This is done as a negotiation or discussion. The teacher may write this short sentence on the overhead or similar device. The same procedure is used for selections two, three, and four. When they are finished the class should have a summary either written or oral of the Chicago Herald article in only a few sentences. This should give the students a way to state the general purpose or purposes of the text.

The teacher can decide to have the students write a short essay now addressing one of the following prompts or do a short lesson on constructing an argumentative essay. If the latter is the case, save the essay writing until the next class period or assign it for homework. Remind the students that any arguments they make must be backed up with words taken directly from the article. The first prompt is designed to be the easiest.

Prompts

The writing style of the journalist who wrote this story might be termed “sensationalist.” Is it or is it not?

According to this article what issues led to the gathering in Haymarket Square and was the government’s reaction to the gathering appropriate?

Is the article biased toward one side or the other? Use examples from the article to support your argument.

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Discussion

Looks like an excellent resource, however there is no way that I could dedicate 5 class days to covering one event during this era. My curriculum map would give me one day, at the most, for this topic. And this is clearly the issue as we try to move more literacy into our content areas...we still only have so many minutes a day to teach our content, so something has to give. I will do my best to incorporate literacy strategies, but not at the expense of my content.

I agree I like this strategy but am pressed for time to cover too many concepts to spend 4 to 5 days on one concept. I may be able to modify the lesson by orally going over the primary sources using the strategy and allowing the students to complete the writing assignment at home. It is not the ideal situation for I would like to monitor the students' writing processes within the classroom.

I agree with kbodington. Five days on just this? Perhaps it would be beneficial to use this technique with multiple newspaper articles on several events of the time period to allow for greater "content coverage". I'd love to hear from other teachers about this...

excellent way to incorporate literacy...the way to do this and still cover content is to provide lecture notes to students and while you lecture, have them highlight important, emphasized information. Maximize the coverage through lecture once or twice a week while providing deep, literacy-based strategies to help students attain skills. In order to implement strategies like this, lecture must be used to ensure complete content coverage. Use these strategies to go into depth about the subjects in history you enjoy the most..